The video has also been shared with similar claims elsewhere on X and further Facebook.
The reports emerged days after police in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district ordered on July 17, 2024 that food stalls along the Kanwar Yatra pilgrimage route publicly display the names of their owners and staff (archived link).
Police said the order was issued to “avoid confusion” among Hindu devotees who have to adhere to a strict vegetarian diet during the pilgrimage, a report by the Indian newspaper The Hindustan Times (archived link).
The order was later extended to the rest of the state and neighbouring Uttarakhand, before the Supreme Court of India stopped its implementation while legal challenges were being considered (archived link).
The order was criticized by opposition politicians who said it targeted Muslim-owned businesses. Some allies of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which governs Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, have also criticized it.
However, there are no official reports to suggest that Rana, himself a member of the BJP, made any public statements on the matter on August 5, 2024.
Unrelated video
A reverse search on Google using keyframes from the video found the uploaded on July 11, 2024 to Rana’s Instagram account, a week before the police order was issued (archive link).
Below is a screenshot of the video in one of the fake posts (left) and the video posted on Rana’s Instagram (right):
Anil Rana, a member of the former wrestler’s management team, said the claim that the video showed Rana protesting the order was false.
He told AFP the video was filmed in State of Himachal Pradesh.
“The video is old and was posted on Instagram on July 11, while the (Uttar Pradesh) government issued the order on July 17,” he said.
